Page 16 of A Dangerous Proposal

The blood.

Was he dead?

Of course, he’s dead!

Alex shot him in the middle of his forehead.

She shuddered as she saw the knife coming at her again and then heard the explosion close by. The smell. Her stomach roiled. She swallowed hard.

Alex.

He saved our lives.

She’d frozen when the man had turned from Cami and lunged at her and Jax.

Alex hadn’t hesitated.

Cami!

That man stabbed her.

Madison’s brain ricocheted from one thought to the next.

Get out of the car and go check on your friend. She needs you.

No. James is there with her. And his brother Declan.

What about Alex?

When he told her to take Jax to the car, she hadn’t even hesitated. She obeyed without a second thought.

Her chest hiccupped, and she only realized she was crying when Jax patted her cheeks, his little face furrowed.

Get it together, Madison.

She sucked a breath through her teeth and held it for a count of five. Then repeated the exercise several times.

Slowly, the hysteria faded, replaced by a comfortable numbness. Through a fog, she realized she should get help. Do something. But she couldn’t seem to get her limbs to move.

Jax whined, letting her know she was holding him too tight, and she loosened her hold.

What was she thinking, putting him in a car with a killer?

A killer who just saved both our lives.

And if you hadn’t come to the studio, that man would have killed Cami.

Why was he there? Why was Cami? It’s the weekend.

The man had looked vaguely familiar, but her brain wouldn’t slow down enough for her to figure out where she knew him from.

Through the windshield, she saw Alex exiting the doors of her offices and walking rapidly toward her.

Relief peeked through her mental fog at the sight of him, which made zero sense.

Vaguely, she realized she was in shock.

Alex’s face was expressionless when he yanked open the door. “Madison, look at me.”

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